Pop-up Book Favorites

[1] Did you give or receive a book as a gift for the holidays? Did you give or receive an e-book reader for the holidays? PBS's "Mediashift" blog reported recently that despite the ever increasing popularity of e-books and Kindles and Nooks, "Print Books Still Rule the Holidays[2]." The article - and a poster we uncovered in our storage room last week - reminded me that one of my favorite kinds of books to give and receive as a gift is a pop-up book. (A pop-up book is truly, as the old poster stated ... a Gift you Open Again and Again.) I enjoy getting any kind of book as a gift, of course, but as space in my home becomes more limited, I like to own books that I can't borrow from the library. And pop-up books are just not transferrable to e-book format. They are works of art designed for the physical, 3-D world.

[3] Both the Main Library and the Ellettsville branch have collections of pop-up books you can enjoy when you visit the library. We don't permit them to be checked out since traveling back and forth to the building would make them wear out faster. But they are meant to be touched, examined and played with in the library. We own several pop-up books by author, illustrator and "paper engineer" Robert Sabuda[4] - the creator of some of my favorites:Winter's Tale[5]depicts the sparkly nature of snow in winter and the surprises that await you. Cookie Count [6]features a delectable collection of cookie confections, baked by colorful little mice. See where they hide when the cat comes by for a taste! [7]And Brava Strega Nona: A Heartwarming Pop-Up Book [8]is a collaborative effort with Tomie dePaola highlighting the "wise words" prominently featured in an ancestral book of magic - powerful words such as famiglia (family), amici (friends), and amore (love). Ask to see these and other magical pop-up books the next time you visit the library. And visit Robert Sabuda's website[9] to see examples of pop-ups from around the world, and to learn how to make some simple pop-ups on your own!